Article excerpt

“There were things about it that made us have a pause about its commercial playability.”

‘The Cloverfield Paradox’

Paramount chief operating officer Andrew Gumpert has explained why the US studio sold the global distribution rights for the The Cloverfield Paradox to Netflix.

In an unorthodox move, the J.J.-Abrams produced film was released unexpectedly by the streaming giant straight after the Super Bowl in February, instead to getting a theatrical release with Paramount. The deal was worth a reported $50m.

Speaking at the UCLA Law School’s annual Entertainment Symposium on Saturday, Gumpert said: “The movie was finished, we all reviewed it together with J.J. and his team. We all decided there were things about it that made us have a pause about its commercial playability in the traditional matter. …